Tag Archives: content

This summer, social media platforms debuted so many new features it was hard to keep up. (Miss out while you were on holiday? Catch up with our roundup.) As fall color explodes, the platforms continue to test and release new features, with Instagram leading the way. With all the changes, the story of the year continues to be Stories.

“By the end of next year, Stories are expected to outpace Feeds as our primary mechanism of content creation. Every marketer should be thinking of an effective, sustainable and human-first Stories strategy—especially on Instagram—before it’s too late.” -Chris Strub, CEO of I Am Here, LLC [source: Forbes]

While Snapchat started the ephemeral content craze, Instagram and Facebook quickly delivered their own options. So, what platform should you use? Go where your audience lives.

Have you already developed an active, engaged following on Instagram? Share compelling behind-the-scenes content on Instagram Stories, taking advantage of the features available. Does your audience reside on Facebook? Go live on the largest social platform in the world, sharing product launches and event sessions. Were you an early adopter of Snapchat, building your loyal following ever since? Share exclusive sales and can’t-miss moments from your company’s day-to-day life.

The takeaway? Don’t jump on every platform and overextend your resources. Are you a small business or solopreneur? Do your research, figure out where your audience lives and devote your resources to those platforms (or even a single one). Develop your approach to an individual platform (or two or three), and master sharing quality content that will compel your audience to act.

“With limited resources and time, it’s appropriate to let the under-performing projects go to make way for new opportunities. Too many marketers attempt to ‘do it all,’ at the expense of doing what works.” -Michael Stelzner, Founder of Social Media Examiner [source: Forbes]

Speaking of compelling content, video is hot—especially live video. But, it still needs to provide value to your audience. Based on our experience, pictures still outperform video in your Instagram feed, but Stories (and now IGTV) is a great place to share video. Show how your product is produced, live-stream your session or share your blog article distribution process.

Test various types of content with your audience to see what resonates best. While it’s important to stay on top of trends in the ever-evolving social media landscape, don’t abandon proven content types, posting times or your brand’s aesthetic to go all in on the latest shiny object. Try working in trends that you think will resonate with your audience, but don’t feel pressured to jump on every new feature or platform as it’s introduced.

Before you try a new feature, think about how it fits into your overall strategy. Testing is an important part of effective social media marketing, but a consistent voice and tone is central to your overall presence. If a new feature doesn’t fit with what you’re doing, don’t use it. If your audience isn’t interested in a platform, devote your resources elsewhere.

Establishing an active, engaged following on platforms where your audience lives is helpful beyond connecting with them. Customers, prospects and fans are more likely to share their experiences with your company on platforms they love.

“When you create a loyal engaged community and reward them by surprising and delighting them for their loyalty, then those people will always share your content and feel part of your brand’s journey!” -Samantha Kelly, Founder/CEO of the Women’s Inspire Network [source: Forbes]

Word of mouth marketing is powerful, because it comes from consumers, not your company. While your brand or company needs to share its story, it’s important for others to share your story. User generated content (UGC) helps you reach a wider audience and gives you content to share. For example, you can share your customer’s posts on Instagram to your Stories to spotlight them.

When you share a customer’s post, they receive a notification via Instagram Direct. It opens a direct conversation between your brand and your customer, which can lead to further engagement, a referral or even a purchase. Every time you interact or engage with someone in an authentic manner, it helps to strengthen their loyalty to your brand.

Despite all of the updates and changes, the story of the year in social media marketing is all about Stories. Whether your audience prefers Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, they’re likely spending a lot of time creating and viewing Stories. So, take some time to think about how Stories fit into your social media marketing strategy, so you can meet your customers (and future customers) where they live.

Share Your Story

How is your business using Stories?
What platform does your audience prefer for Stories?
What’s your favorite Stories feature?

The tradition continues. Each year since 2012 (the year I started CCC), I’ve published a list of 50 things I’m grateful for. This isn’t a 5-minute exercise. I create the list over the course of weeks or even months. Oftentimes, I’ll jot down an activity I’m doing or a memory triggered by a conversation or passage in a book. What are you grateful for?

That’s my list for the summer of 2018. Take a moment to think about what you’re grateful for in your life right now. Share your list, however long or short, in the comments or leave a link to your own post. Writing down what you’re grateful for is a powerful exercise to remember to count the blessings in your life.

Last week, CCC was in Indianapolis creating content and getting social with over 34,000 firefighters from around the world at FDIC International 2018. In addition to impressive signage and booth displays, we picked up another cool idea — a Show Daily.

This tabloid-sized publication shared highlights from the previous day’s events. It’s also a great way to feature sponsors, hot/new products and actionable takeaways for attendees to follow up on during or after the show.

A practical piece that also serves as a memento from your event! How can you utilize a Show Daily?

It’s that time of year: everyone is publishing their thoughts on the next big things in marketing. We’ve been keeping an eye on a number of projected trends for 2018 and year-end reviews from 2017. Here’s our take on how your business can capitalize.

More Quality, Less Quantity

(We’re hoping) 2018 is the year that content marketing gets real. Due to budget cuts and information overload, along with some aha moments, brands started to spend more time creating and curating valuable content last year instead of sticking to rigid, conveyor belt-like content calendars. The result? Their higher quality content performed better even though they produced less of it, often much less.

We’ve all been there. You need to send an email out tomorrow morning, and you’re running behind due to producing so much content. So you throw something together to stay on schedule. Stop. What value does this marketing email deliver to your recipients? What should they take away from it? If you can’t answer those questions, neither can your audience. (p.s. We’re not telling you to throw away your content calendars; just have some flexibility and keep your ultimate goal in mind.)

Less time spent churning out content creates more time for testing, analyzing data and developing or fine-tuning your strategy, including distribution.

Remember the Basics (Even in Our Brave, New Digital World)

Yes, social media and digital marketing have changed the game, but marketing basics still apply. Always keep your big picture in mind. Why are you in business? What are you ultimately trying to accomplish? Every marketing action should support this goal. Keep it in mind as you review your marketing plan or recent efforts. If you’re frustrated by your results, take a fresh look at what you’re doing. Could you achieve more with less? Is your audience on another platform, or have their contact preferences changed? It may be time to take a closer look at your buyer personas (or create them in the first place).

This sentiment was the basis for an article we published last year, Understanding Social Media Etiquette with Real-World Scenarios. We understand that social media and the digital realm can seem confusing and overwhelming at times, but it helps to take a step back and consider your actions in the real world (i.e. offline).

Get Personal — With a Human Touch

Technology has improved marketing’s capabilities by leaps and bounds, but we can’t forget to add a human touch. Automation, chat bots, facial recognition, big data and more have allowed us to personalize a customer’s experience more than ever, but there are drawbacks too.

This can delight some consumers and freak out others. So, a key skill for the best digital marketers will be understanding when to back off.” -Barry Levine, MarTech

Remember to be human when interacting with your audience online (and remember to interact with your audience in the first place). People like to do business with people, not faceless brands or companies. This is an area where small businesses have an advantage, as they can easily put a face behind the business name.

Use automation where you can to be more efficient, but don’t automate a human touch out of your online marketing efforts. Data can point your marketing in the right direction, but it requires human analysis to get there. Personalizing a buyer’s journey is fantastic, but don’t get creepy. Where is that line? That’s where you — and your human insight — come in.

Summary

While it can be tempting to jump on every trend or new platform, take time to think about your situation. What works for others, including well-known personalities, may not work for you. Focus on producing quality content that provides value to your audience, even if takes you longer. Mix your high-quality content with valuable content you curate from other reputable sources (and give them credit). You may be amazed at what you can accomplish with less.

While you’re focusing on creating high-quality content, remember marketing basics. They still apply in today’s high-tech, digital world. Social media has taken over marketing strategies everywhere, but it’s still a form of communication. Don’t forget to get social with your audience instead of just broadcasting content.

While you’re getting social, you’re being human — and that will continue to be a major part of marketing in 2018 and beyond. Technology is fantastic, but don’t get carried away. Add a human touch wherever you can, especially when interacting with customers, prospective customers and community members.

Good luck with your marketing efforts in 2018! We love to see companies doing marketing well. Have a question or need help with your efforts? Comment below, or contact us so we can help you communicate with your target audience.

Editor’s Note: We’re excited to welcome Tanya Sen as a contributor to the CCC blog! Enjoy her article below on the importance of influencer engagement in your digital marketing strategy, and learn more about her at the end of the article. If you’d like help with your digital marketing strategy, contact us so we can discuss your needs. Thanks for your support all year long, and have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2018!

To be successful, companies and businesses have to constantly innovate and come up with marketing strategies that will deliver. These days no marketing plan is complete without a digital marketing strategy. The impact of digital marketing in generating brand awareness is tremendous, especially if you can get the right people talking about your brand.

These people are called influencers, and their recommendations and reviews carry a lot of weight with their audience. Influencers are any individual or group who can sway the sentiments of their audience in a certain direction regarding a person, brand, idea, or business.

Here are few ways in which an influencer will be able to boost your digital marketing efforts.

Influencers enable you to reach out to a wide and loyal audience

The biggest advantage of communicating through an influencer is that you reach out to a wide audience. More importantly, this audience follows the content that the influencer puts out. So, if an influencer mentions your brand name, talks about it or retweets or shares your posts, they are amplifying your brand communication.

Influencers help you to build a good network

Influencers help you to build a good network in multiple ways. First, whenever an influencer sends out any content, it generates a lot of conversation and discussion among their followers, which can lead to more brand-building. Not just that, they share or retweet these posts which means that your audience multiplies, increasing your visibility.

Second, through these conversations you can also identify other influential people. They can in turn influence their own audience’s opinion of your brand, resulting in a snowball effect and reaching a wider audience.

Influencers deliver engaging content

In a survey conducted by Vocus and Brian Solis, 62% of the respondents said that they follow an influencer because of the content they create. Quality content is crucial to any marketing campaign. When you collaborate with influencers, they can create unique content to spread the message about your brand or product. And the best part is the audience is much more likely to engage with this content!

Influencers have established credibility with their audience

Another important factor that contributes to the large following of influencers is credibility. The expertise these individuals hold in a particular field combined with the good relations they maintain with their audience makes them reliable to people. Their opinion of your brand will most likely become the general opinion among their audience. A positive word from an influencer can do wonders for your brand.

Influencers are up to date with the latest trends and insights in their fields

Influencers are usually aware of the latest trends of the evolving social media platforms. They tend to be among the first to try these new trends, to discover new platforms to reach and engage with their audience. Through them, you too can get acquainted with such new ideas and employ them to interest prospective customers.

Author bio

Tanya Sen

Tanya Sen quit her well-paying job to follow her dreams and become a writer. She is now creating and managing digital content to build relationships for organizations and individuals. Tanya is an avid traveler, having visited more than 40 countries. She loves to cook and try different cuisines. She now lives in Goa, India.

We’ve been enjoying the sights and sounds of the holiday season while finishing client projects with care. As we count down toward Christmas Day and the New Year, we wanted to showcase your favorites from throughout the year. Enjoy!

Top 3 Countries of Visitors

Top 5 Tags & Categories

Milestones Celebrated in 2017

20,000 Views

12,500 Visitors

CCC’s 5 Year Anniversary!

Thank you for your support this year! We appreciate every visitor, click and share, and we’re looking forward to providing more valuable content in 2018. A special thank you to our clients, who are amazing to work with!

Comment Here

What was your favorite post of 2017?

How did you find jaimeshine.com?

Which page(s) do you visit most often?

Which tag and/or category do you visit most often?

What type of content do you visit the CCC blog to read? Are there any topics you’d like to see written about more in 2018?

We appreciate your feedback and enjoy incorporating it into future blog and content decisions.

“Consumers engage with 11.4 pieces of content on average prior to making a purchase.”

In the B2B world, buying journeys tend to run longer anyway, but consumers (B2B and B2C) are doing their homework these days. Studies show that 70-80% of people research a company online before visiting the small business or making a purchase with them.

Whether it’s leftover angst from the Great Recession or the availability of information today, it’s precisely why content marketing is so important.

Here’s a real-life example:

Recently, I stayed over in Park City, Utah, for a day after working a client’s conference in nearby Salt Lake City. On a whim, I decided to get a massage after spending the previous four days pounding convention center floors. I pulled up local spas on my phone, checking their hours, availability and services. Not surprisingly, I contacted the spas who had this information available online — not ones I had to call just to see if they were open. And the spas who had additional content available — more in-depth descriptions of their services, photos of their facility, online real-time availability, etc. — moved to the top of my list.

What does this have to do with content marketing? The information I sought was quality content created by (or for) these spas: descriptive services pages with quality photos, blog articles on the benefits of one type of massage over another, recommendations on how to maximize your spa-going experience. This is what consumers are looking for today before making a purchase or even contacting your company.

While I didn’t end up getting a massage, I did manage to take a break from technology and enjoy the magic of Park City. But not before I utilized even more content — a visitor’s guide from my condo, Park City Transit’s website — to plan my stress-free day.

We’re all consumers at some point, so don’t forget about your experiences as a customer when you put on your marketing hat. These experiences are valuable and can make us better marketing professionals, if we choose to use them.

Reader Feedback

How have you used content marketing to learn more about a business or make a purchase?

How do you use your experiences as a customer to become a better marketing professional?

What types of content do you prefer when researching a company or purchase?

CCC is excited to welcome guest contributor, Katrina Manning! You can learn more about Katrina at the end of her article.

When it comes to marketing your business, one of your most critical tools is blogging. For starters, it gives you an effective way to communicate with your customers. Secondly, it can help boost the SEO of your website. Yet, is your blog still having trouble getting noticed? There isn’t any question that blogs have a lot of competition. In order to get people to read your blog, you need to make it easy to find, produce high-quality and relevant content and have a design aesthetic that appeals to the contemporary viewer.

Revamp your blogging techniques to invite more readers to the party!

Here are five tips for revamping your blogging techniques:

Keep your content original and interesting

It should be common sense to understand that people only want to read articles that are original and interesting. Yet, you may be surprised to see that there are thousands of blogs with copied and illogical articles that cause most viewers to shake their heads and never return to those spammy sites again. When it comes to revamping your blogging techniques, you might want to take inventory of your current article cache. Do they provide relevant and informative content? Are they original? If not, it may be time to do some housekeeping. You don’t want search engines to pass over your blog. Use keyword searches to look for fresh ideas, or offer a different angle on a popular topic. Just make sure you are not writing the same types of articles found on almost every other blog within your niche.

Put mobile first

In 2015, Google announced that more searches were performed on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries. In fact, U.S. web designers always advise building sites that are mobile-first, then creating desktop versions. Smartphone screens are getting larger, and tablets continue to increase in popularity. Many users enjoy the card-style layouts, made trendy by Pinterest. This might be something to consider with regard to revamping the overall look of your blog.

Think of video

When it comes to external communication strategies, brands are increasingly focusing on video and — the buzzword for 2016 — virtual reality. Although video is helping to strengthen messages many brands are trying to convey, content isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Think of the stories that videos tell, different formats and even videos with no sound. If you can successfully integrate video with content and perhaps start dabbling in virtual reality, you’ll have something superior on your hands.

Work on your social media profiles

One of the most cost-efficient methods of advertising is through social media. With that being said, you should make sure you cross-link your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with your blog. In addition, you need a voice of your brand to promote your blog posts throughout your social media platforms. Do this on a consistent basis to get the word out and drive more traffic.

Connect with readers

One thing that readers will value is a personal connection. Other than your content, there isn’t anything to keep your readers coming back to your blog. On the other hand, if they have an outlet to share their thoughts and get the sense that a response will be made, they might be more inclined to revisit. Compare this to your personal Facebook page. When you post about something you like, do you not go back to see if any of your friends liked or commented on your post? When one of your readers has the opportunity to comment on your articles, they may come back to see if you’ve responded or if anyone else has responded.

On top of that, you can create an email list of willing subscribers by placing an optional subscription link on your blog. You can make it non-optional, but people don’t like to feel they were forced into doing things. If you make it optional, you have a higher likelihood that the people who signed up will be more receptive to your messages. When you email your subscribers with your updates, you can use your real voice to give it a more personal touch. You can be a subject matter expert and still appeal to the human trait of desiring companionship. People don’t want to feel like a number, they want to feel important.

As markets and personal preferences change, so should your blog. Performing a revamp every several years isn’t just good for you, it’s also good for business.

Katrina Manning is a web writer and editor with over six years of experience penning content for a wide variety of sites and publications, such as Yahoo! Small Business Advisor, IBM, The Purple Cow Agency blog, Sweet Lemon Magazine, Udemy, Business 2 Community, Personal Finance Hub, The Iowa City Owl, Newsiosity and Seven12 Magazine.

At the end of last year, a local icon in our community closed its doors. While it’s the end of an era, it’s not the end of West Point Market. The legendary gourmet specialty food store is reinventing itself to thrive against increased competition by reopening a smaller flagship store and eventually opening satellite stores in suburbs surrounding Akron.

Are centralized company blogs moving to a multitude of satellite locations? (Image courtesy of Carla Arena: http://bit.ly/2h3GzIx)

What’s that have to do with blogging you ask?

The future of blogging is starting to take shape, and we’re questioning whether it will revolve around centralized blogs at all.

First, LinkedIn opened its publishing platform to everyone. Earlier this year, Facebook expanded its Instant Articles program to all publishers. If Twitter ever decides to abolish its 140-character limit, its own publishing platform will be quick to follow. Of course, we also have SlideShare, Periscope, SnapChat and so on.

What do all of the previously mentioned platforms have in common? You publish content directly on them instead of sharing articles or links from other locations, like your company blog.

Of course, the company blog has become popular due to several factors, including:

drawing regular traffic to your company’s website

improving your site’s SEO with fresh, organic content

hosting your thoughts on owned real estate, not rented

positioning members of your company as thought leaders in your industry

We’re not pushing for the end of the company blog; it just seems inevitable at some point. Or will companies keep blogs on their websites but reduce the number of posts or switch to more of a micro-blogging format (i.e. short videos, pictures, fewer words)?

As we move further into an era of satellite publishing, how will you adapt? Hire more content writers? Kill the company blog and divvy up platforms between contributors? Ask your employees to shoulder more of the load?

The future of blogging is closer than it appears. Will centralized company blogs still exist?

If you’re not familiar, the Content Marketing Institute made a documentary telling the story of content marketing — past, present and future.

Yes, content marketing has a past, and I’m not referring to 2015. In fact, John Deere has been succeeding at the art of content marketing since 1895, when it introduced The Furrow. Some of the earliest printed ads were prime examples of content marketing before the ad industry switched directions.

So where are we today? Content marketing is all the rage, but like any other form of marketing, it requires a strategy and commitment. While you may receive extensive engagement on one piece of content, content marketing is a long-term strategy, not an overnight success story.

However, if you stick with it and do it right, you’ll become a valuable resource to your clients, partners and online communities.

Looking for inspiration? The documentary contains real-world case studies of companies in various industries succeeding in the content marketing arena today. We also welcome you to check out some of our past posts on the subject.

Is your company interested in developing relationships and creating value with content marketing? Let’s talk about a strategy that’s right for you.